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Leslie Knope
Leslie Knope is a fictional character in the NBC comedy-drama Parks and Recreation. She is portrayed by Amy Poehler. Early life As a child, Leslie found a loving, diverse, active family in the many community programs offered by the wonderful city government of Pawnee. She vowed early on to give back to this vibrant and fascinating town by living a life of public service. Leslie graduated in the top 5% of her class at Pawnee North High School, where she was Co-Vice President of the Student Body and a member of Model United Nations, Key Club, Debate Club, Mock Trial, Young Republicans, Young Democrats, Young Independents (founding member), Drama Club, Historical Society, Orchestra, Color Guard, and junior varsity field hockey. She attended Indiana University, graduated summa cum laude, and is a Hoosier athletics fan. She was actually born in Eagleton, Indiana, as the Pawnee Hospital was overrun with raccoons at the time of her birth. Background Leslie is a mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Indiana who hopes to advance her career and improve her town, while working towards her goal of becoming the first female President. She and Mark Brendanawicz, a coworker of hers and reputable womanizer, hooked up leaving Leslie with romantic feelings towards him, although it meant nothing to Mark. Knope is a fan of Hillary Clinton (whom Amy Poehler spoofed during her tenure on Saturday Night Live), prominently displaying her official portrait as Secretary of State on the wall next to her door. In addition, she displays the photograph of Madeline Albright, Condoleezza Rice, Janet Reno, and Nancy Pelosi. Leslie is a proud member of numerous action committees in and around City Hall, including, but not limited to: the Equal Opportunity Committee, the Fun in the Sun Committee, the Clean Restroom Task Force, the Increased Access to Restrooms Task Force, the Handicapped Restroom Task Force, the Committee for Repainting Handicapped Parking Spaces Task Force, and the Task Force to Reduce the Number of Public Restrooms. Storyline Season One Initially, Leslie is shown to carry romantic feelings for her co-worker Mark due to her romantic altercation with him several years before. She is also desperate to impress her mother Marlene, who is a well-known politician in the Pawnee government. At a public forum she meets Ann Perkins, who informs her about a pit near her house that her boyfriend, Andy Dwyer, fell into. Leslie takes on the project, hoping to build a park there, and quickly becomes friends with Ann. However, she learns that overcoming the red tape of government and budget defecits isn't easy. Season Two Leslie seems to move on from her romantic interest in Mark and begins dating police officer Dave Sanderson. She also begins taking charge and gains a lot of confidence. Also, more of her relationships with her co-workers is shown. Towards the end of the season, Dave, who was enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve, was called into active duty in San Diego, where he will be doing custodial work. Dave asks Leslie to move with him to San Diego, and although she considered it, she ultimately declined and they parted ways amicably. In "The Master Plan", Leslie meets Ben Wyatt and Chris Traeger, who are state auditors who have come to Pawnee because the city is broke. At first, Leslie doesn't get along with Ben, saying later she thought he was a "facist hard ass". When he asks her out to have a beer, they begin to respect each other more. Chris reveals that the town has virutally no funds left and the government will be shut down (which includes the parks of Pawnee) until further notice. He and Chris set up a budget task force with several employees of Pawnee's government, including Ron Swanson. Ron accidently reveals that that Leslie is secretly planning to put the cancelled children's concert on a unused lot behind Ann Perkins' house, he tries to stop her. When Ben sees how much effort she put into it, he lets her have the concert and even pays Freddy Spaghetti to come back after he agreed to perform at a library in Eagleton, which gets him back on Leslie's good side. Season Three Leslie decides to bring back the defunct Pawnee Harvest Festival, the success or failure of which will determine the financial future of the department. After weeks of planning, the Harvest Festival is a success. Leslie is shown to have feelings for Ben Wyatt in this Season. She wants to take another step in their relationship but isn't allowed to because of Chris Traeger's inter-office dating rules. It's also shown that Ben has feelings for her too. Ben kissed her in the episode "Road Trip" and they started secretly dating. In "The Fight", Leslie tells Ann about an opening as the Public Relations Director of the Health Department. She's excited about the possibility of them working in the same building, but is disappointed when Ann doesn't seem as excited as she expected. That night, at the Snakehole Lounge, Leslie is surprised and annoyed to find Ann partying on the dance floor instead of preparing for the job interview the next day. She insults Ann's dating lifestyle that includes numerous one-night stands. This prompts Ann to insult Leslie for moving too slow with Ben, whom Leslie is attracted to. The fight escalates throughout the night, and Leslie ultimately claims she always has to keep Ann motivated or she would not go anywhere. Both declare it best that Ann not work with Leslie after all and they storm off. The next morning, Leslie deeply regrets how she treated Ann. Ben visits Ann at her home and asks her to forgive Leslie. Ann, who also regrets the fight, is touched by Ben's gesture and reveals that Leslie likes him. Ann decides to attend the job interview, during which she and Leslie apologize to each other. Leslie is approached about possibly running for elected office in "Li'l Sebastian", a life-long dream of hers, but when asked about potential scandals in her life, she neglects to mention her relationship with Ben. Season Four After some encouragement from Ben, Leslie decides to run for city council. She writes a book detailing her love for the city of Pawnee entitled ‘’Pawnee: The Greatest Town in America’’. She also finds out that she was actually born in Eagleton, Indiana because, according to her mother, the Pawnee Hospital was overrun by raccoons at the time. Leslie soon comes to realize that while she is running, her relationship with Ben cannot continue, and they regretfully break up. Leslie then announces her city council candidacy. She decides to hire Andy Dwyer as her assistant. After both Ben and Leslie find they cannot get over one another, they get back together, and Ben sacrifices his job to save Leslie from losing hers. The scandal of their relationship causes her campaign staff to abandon her, and the Parks Department, including Ron, Donna, Andy, April, Ann, and Jerry, volunteers to be her new campaign staff, while Ben agrees to be her campaign manager. Her ex-boyfriend Dave Sanderson shows back up and, during an awkward dinner with her and Ben, unsuccessfully attempts to win her back. There are various hurdles Leslie and her campaign staff have to overcome against her opponent Bobby Newport and his hotshot Washington campaign manager Jennifer Barkley. In the Season 4 finale, Bobby Newport is announced as the winner of the city council election by 21 votes. After demanding a recount, Ann tells Leslie that she has won the election. Ben decides to accept the job offer from Jennifer to run a congressional campaign for Congressman Murray (with some encouragement from Leslie to do so) but the couple worries how they will cope with Ben moving to Washington, D.C. for six months. Trivia * She has been a dues paying member of the Indiana Organization of Women since she was 9 * In high school they used to call her Angela Lansbury, but that was because of her hair cut Photos This character has a Photo Gallery. Category:Characters Category:Department of Parks and Recreation Employees